Brazil Is Participating This Weekend in the Pan American Open
The Pan American Open of Santiago will be held this weekend. There will be 17 athletes wearing the Brazilian Judogi in the National Stadium Gym. On Saturday, July 26th, the men’s and women’s extra-light, half-light and lightweight categories will step in. On Sunday, July 27th, the half-middle, the middle, the half-heavy and the heavyweight categories close the competition.
The green and yellow country will be represented by Phelipe Pelim (60kg), Diego Santos (60kg), Rodrigo Lopes (60kg), Daniel Santos (66kg), Vinícius Sakamoto (66kg), Thelma Martelotta (66kg), Gabriel Mendes (73kg) Leandro Cunha (73kg), Yuri Takabatake (73kg), João Pedro Macedo (73kg), Vinícius Panini (81kg), Henrique Silva (90kg), Horácio Antunes (100kg) and João Gabriel Schlittler (100kg) together with Milena Mendes (52kg), Dione Barbosa (63kg) and Melina Scardua (78kg).
João Gabriel Schlittler, heavyweight (+100 kg) bronze medalist at the Rio 2007 World Judo Championships, has climbed this year on the podium in two Pan American Opens: silver in San Salvador and bronze in Buenos Aires, but this time in the half heavyweight (100kg). Concerning this weekend’s performance, the expectations are high. "Until now I've been climbing in Pan American Opens, and I hope to keep it this way," the judoka said.
Besides Schlittler, the other members of the team representing the country are also quite promising. Bronze awarded at the World Junior Championship from last year, Gabriel Mendes targets a good position within his new class, the Under-23. "I’ve been training hard thinking of winning this competition and so my first points in the world ranking," Gabriel Mendes said.
Among the extra-lightweight (60kg) athletes, Rodrigo Lopes, only 18 years old, will make his first competition in the senior class and, despite his young age, is confident. "I’ve been training a lot for it, I expect quite a lot. I’m also motivated by the fact that this is my first competition in the senior team, so I hope to start well and, who knows, others may come around. "
The coaches Mario Sabino and Danielle Zangrando together with the physiotherapist Hans Peter Strubreiter are joining the athletes during their trip.
